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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27894196">Dear Theodosia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emberleaf23/pseuds/Emberleaf23'>Emberleaf23</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Danplan/ActuallyOddPlan Past Lives AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DanPlan, actuallyoddplan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Child Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Shit goes down</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:34:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27894196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emberleaf23/pseuds/Emberleaf23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Stephen lost his family in his first life</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinted Hosuh Lee/Stephen Ng</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Danplan/ActuallyOddPlan Past Lives AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dear Theodosia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephen, Dan, Ann, and Hosuh all faced Santa, hoping they could do it. Boars and slimes were nothing in comparison to a giant. A giant, they would soon realize, who could manipulate minds.</p><p>Stephen rose, able to hear and see once again, nodding to a rather bloody Ann. "The look suits you! Now let's-"</p><p>Suddenly, his legs crumpled beneath him as Santa shoved a memory into his head.</p><p>An old, familiar, destroying memory.</p><p>Falling to his hands and knees, the memory filled his mind.</p><p>
  <em>Stephen had woken up to his wife, Tanisha, poking him awake with their daughter, Theodosia- whom he'd jokingly nicknamed Ted- who sat on the bed beside him and giggled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After a few hours, Tanisha told Stephen that she was going to go to the market with Ted and buy food for the week.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She also mentioned that she had to fix Ted's doll, since the young girl had accidentally pulled out a few threads.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But Stephen knew she needed a break, so he offered to go get the food instead and let the girls relax in the warm, toasty cabin. He grabbed a few bags and left for the market.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He returned a few hours later, setting down the food on the small, hardwood table and noting his family weren't in the cabin. So he set off outside to find them, stopping when he smelled two bone-chilling scents.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blood and death.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>Please, please, please don't be them. Don't be them don't be them don't be them don't be them don't be them-</strong> His thoughts begged as he started sprinting towards the awful smells.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What he found made him puke.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tanisha and Ted lay dead at his feet, blood seeping from slits in their throats and bite wounds covering their bodies, staining the snow underneath them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And the ogres that had mauled them were specks in the distance, their quiet, hideous laughter ringing in Stephen's ears.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He held his deceased family and sobbed, wondering how he could ever make it up to them, how he could ever fix this. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But then he remembered the art of necromancy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe, just maybe, he could save them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, tears still streaming down his face, he stood and took them back to the cabin, laying them in bed. He muttered a promise under his breath that he'd fix it and kill those goddamn ogres.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He stumbled out onto the main path, not seeing the horse that was about run him over. The rider pushed him out of the way, but made him fall into a small ravine and hit his head on a sharp rock.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He awoke with no memories, only with an intense need to learn necromancy. Nearby, he found a staff tipped with a sharp, scarlet crystal. He soon learned that he could use it to perform his chosen expertise.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After climbing out of the ravine and wandering around the forest for a bit, he came across a town, where he met three friends by the names of Dan, Ann, and Hosuh.</em>
</p><p>The memory ended, leaving Stephen dazed on the cold pebble paths of the Candy Cane Kingdom.</p><p>He was hardly aware of the tears streaming down his face, blurring his vision, or the fact that Hosuh and Dan had planted themselves in front of him, protecting him from Santa, who was nearly down.</p><p>Ann and the reindeer gave one final blow, Santa falling to his knees with blood staining his long silver beard.</p><p>Dan strided over to him, anger clear in his movements, as Hosuh helped Stephen stumble to his feet and kept a hand on his shoulder in case he fell.</p><p>"So why'd you do it? Why'd you bomb the village? Why'd you hurt Stephen? Why'd you <em>cause</em> all this?" Dan asked Santa, rage filling his thorn-like, almost merciless green gaze as he recalled the children playing in the snow and the absolute devastation in Stephen's scream when the memory had overtaken him.</p><p>Santa explained about the village, how they were evil and killed those who traveled there. How the elves had deceived the four.</p><p>"What about Stephen, then? What did you do to him?" Hosuh growled, his own eyes boiling with rage.</p><p>"It's better that he remembers what he lost. Yes, it was painful, but he, given the chance, would never want to forget them." The giant whispered, pity in his dying voice.</p><p>Stephen closed his violet eyes, remembering their faces. Their laughs. Their deaths stained his mind and thoughts like potent ink, but he wanted to remember the good times, too.</p><p>Hosuh glanced at the tears still streaking down Stephen's face with worry. But he hadn't disagreed with what Santa had said.</p><p>So he took Stephen's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's okay." He murmured.</p><p>"Is it? Will it ever be okay?" The younger whispered in a quiet, dull voice. He gazed down at his bloodstained boots with unspoken grief, it reminding him of his family, dead in the snow.</p><p>Hosuh had no reply, only squeezed his hand again.</p><p>-----</p><p>It was Christmas Day, and the sun was beginning to peek up from behind the tall, ridged mountains. The four friends sat around a dying flame, not caring now that the sun was rising, but rather tired after a full night of delivering presents.</p><p>They'd finally got some rest around 1 AM, Stephen being out first, both from manipulating elves and remembering his past.</p><p>His other memories had began coming back after he'd awoken. Memories of sweet-smelling cookies, warm gingerbread, sunny afternoons playing in the yard.</p><p>The tastes of freshly picked grapes and berries, pancakes and newly caught tuna. Bright smiles and soft chuckles, stargazing and delicious watermelons, knock-knock jokes and excited laughter.</p><p>Perfectly cooked bacon and eggs, wonderfully smelling flowers stationed by the window-</p><p>"Hey, Stephen?" Hosuh asked quietly, watching the crisp orange sun shift to a soft, buttery yellow as it rose.</p><p>"Yeah?" The necromancer answered dimly, his mind lost in returning memories.</p><p>"Well, you don't have to answer- it's almost definitely pretty stressful and sad and I probably shouldn't-"</p><p>"You wanna know what the memory was." Stephen cut him off, knowing. It would be more surprising if it wasn't what they were asking about.</p><p>Ann nodded, her bright amber eyes swirling with worry. Dan and Hosuh shared it, their gazes dark with concern despite the rising sun and its growing light, shining on silent morning dew.</p><p>Stephen noticed their concern, and couldn't help shifting in his seat. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't really import-"</p><p>Hosuh cut him off. "Stephen, we all know that isn't true. It is important. You don't have to tell us, but you can. It's better to talk than stay silent and suffer. You always told me, whenever I felt sad or depressed- like you feel now- that talking helps. Let me return the favor."</p><p>Stephen looked away. "Hosuh-"</p><p>"Stephen." Hosuh stopped him, taking his hand again. "You are not a robot."</p><p>So, with a shuttering breath, Stephen recounted his memory, ignoring the tears streaming down his cheeks.</p><p>Everyone's faces gained more and more shock and horror as he finished the tale. Hosuh crushed him in a hug.</p><p>"I'm so, so sorry." He whispered into Stephen's shoulder.</p><p>Ann and Dan joined the hug, murmuring comforts of their own.</p><p>The group fell asleep like that, in front of the embers of a dying fire.</p><p>And three months later, they'd gain a rather fiery addition to the group.</p>
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